Gene Lock, activate!
Every cell seemed to be burning, his heart roaring like an internal combustion engine. The sensation of transformation made Lu Ce acutely aware that unprecedented changes were taking place within him.
And with them came strength!
Metal snapped. The alloy handcuffs, sturdy enough to firmly restrain a bull, exploded apart. Steam rose from his arm as if it were boiling, and he raised it high.
In the doctor's stunned pupils reflected the cold gleam of shattered metal.
Their bodies sprang up like panthers, their positions instantly reversed as the female doctor was pinned to the bed.
He seized the knife, twisted around, and completed the motion in one fluid movement, as though he had practiced it countless times.
The frivolity in his eyes had completely vanished. Having regained his freedom, Lu Ce did not say another word. A wolfish ferocity flashed in his eyes as he raised the knife and drove it viciously toward the woman's exposed chest!
That was where her heart lay.
At this moment, the viewers who had been eagerly discussing the bullet comments, thinking they were watching some perverted erotic livestream, also sensed that something was wrong.
Wait... wasn't this situation a little off?
Something went wrong? Also, how did he suddenly break those handcuffs?
It was acting, right? Wonder what the plot was next. What, were they switching to the traditional man-on-top position now?
Yet the two people at the center of everyone's attention knew this was no game. Terror filled the female doctor's eyes as she desperately gripped Lu Ce's knife-wielding hand with both hands, unable to believe that the man before her had broken free of his restraints.
"Carbon-based basic life-form... eighteen years old... low-grade physical energy... Impossible! What did you do?!"
Her shrill voice echoed through the room. Veins bulged on the doctor's forehead as she struggled like a trapped beast.
But Lu Ce remained completely unmoved. His remaining leg pressed against her lower abdomen as he continuously exerted force, the dagger steadily pressing down through her struggles.
The sharp tip had already sliced open the smooth flesh of her chest. The shape that could drive countless men mad had no effect on Lu Ce whatsoever. Like a precise machine, he was about to slaughter his prey.
"Don't, don't. This is only a game. Nothing will happen."
Seeing that Lu Ce would not be swayed, the female doctor finally panicked. She hurriedly forced a flattering smile onto her face and pleaded:
"This is Chosen Paradise. You are a Chosen One. This is merely an initial trial."
"You passed! You performed very well. After this, you'll receive many rewards!"
"You must be curious about what's going on, right? Let me go. I know everything. I can tell you anything you want to know!"
"Just tell me what you want! I can agree to anything. I'm yours too; you can do whatever you want..."
Amid her frantic words, her tone shifted several times, from pleading to flattery, and eventually to bribes and seduction. Yet Lu Ce's expression did not change in the slightest. He only stared fixedly at the knife in his hand.
The woman beneath him stirred no interest in him whatsoever. Her nearly bare clothes and pitiful words only made him change from pressing the knife down with his right hand to using both hands!
Lu Ce knew that if he could break apart those handcuffs, yet this woman could still resist him, then she was absolutely no ordinary person either.
A fight to the death required no further words.
Blood seeped out, and life slowly ebbed away.
"You can't kill me. I am—"
Crack!
It was the sound of the dagger piercing through her breastbone and pinning her heart, forever sealing her unfinished words inside her mouth.
Only then did Lu Ce look at her wide-open eyes and speak his first words since breaking free.
"I've been an orphan since I was little. It wasn't easy surviving until now."
"Over the years, I learned one thing... never hand your chance to live over to someone else!"
After saying that, the sharpness in his eyes vanished instantly. His body went limp, and he collapsed weakly into the arms of the woman beneath him, whose warmth had yet to fade.
"You should only say that kind of victor's declaration after the other side is completely dead. Hah."
He forced out a couple of laughs, then looked at his truly missing right leg and found that he could not laugh anymore.
During that life-or-death crisis, his mind had been perfectly clear. Only by killing his enemy could he survive. But now, his thoughts were in utter chaos.
What game? What trial? Why had his leg suddenly been severed?
Clenching his fist, the extreme strength brought by unlocking the Gene Lock gave Lu Ce at least some confidence.
He turned to look at the screen floating in the air, the one connected to the so-called "livestream," hoping to find some answers.
On the large screen, the comments, which had briefly fallen silent in shock at the sudden turn of events, now exploded.
:Game? What game? Does that mean we're Chosen Ones too? Why else would this video suddenly appear before my eyes?
:It suddenly appeared on my computer, and I can't close it.
:Awesome! I'll remember you, Counterkill Bro.
:Police have been called.
After briefly scanning through them, he found only fragmented information. Then the whole room suddenly shook, and the large screen instantly went dark before shooting into Lu Ce's eyes.
Lu Ce was startled. Just as he instinctively tried to react, his body had already become completely unresponsive, as though he were floating through space.
Before his eyes was a stream of data like a spacetime tunnel. In his ears sounded a strange mechanical voice, accompanied by lines of text appearing out of thin air before him.
Initial game concluded. Welcome to the global large-scale game—Chosen Paradise! Initial number of Chosen Ones: Initial number of participants: Number of finishers:, Note: No true death will occur during the initial stage, but those who fail to finish will have their game qualifications revoked. Number of perfect clears: 3549! Your initial clear rating: SSS-rank, perfect clear! Current consecutive perfect clears: 1 Calculating rewards...
"Damn..." As Lu Ce looked at the lines of text before him, he was starting to feel a little dumbfounded.
Only now did he truly realize what it meant for "the world to change."
Special event triggered: Killed an initial divine guide, obtained achievement badge: God Slayer. Special event triggered: Seized A-003-grade sealed item—Sensory Manipulator. Due to the item's special nature, it has been reclaimed. A sealed item of the same grade has been rewarded and placed in your inventory. Initial reward points: 3000. Initial reward items: Intermediate Recovery Potion*3, placed in your inventory. Your current world ranking: 1/. Rankings update after every game. Consecutive perfect performances and high rankings will bring surprises~ Keep up the good work.
"I'm... world number one?"
Lu Ce stared blankly at the "1/" before him, lost in thought...
Before you continue